Open up, Survivors Inside

Chapter 13

Puffer was mentally and physically exhausted. Whatever adrenaline rush he had was over, and Puffer was ready to pass out. Four people had been lost in the span of one day, two of which could have been prevented if Puffer had put his foot down sooner. When Lee walked over to him, he was already expecting the worst news. "Puffer..." Lee started, and Puffer looked up, "...Duck's been bitten."

Puffer wanted to scream, to yell at the world. Five people were lost, with the fifth being a slower one. "Fuck..." Puffer said, burying his head in his hands. He looked back to where the teens and Elizabeth were, then back at Lee, "We can think of something later..." Right now, everyone needed to rest.

Lee sat beside Clementine and began to talk with her while Puffer leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he noticed the RV's faucet dripping water...wait what? He looked over, and was met with a rotting corpse, its teeth jagged and eyes the same milky white. It lunged forward, trying to bet a bite on Puffer.

And that's when Puffer jerked awake, nearly tipping over the stolen supplies Puffer had found. The sun was starting to rise, and he could see Lee was still asleep. Kenny was still driving the RV, and Puffer looked to the faucet. Dry as could be. Fuck whatever that thing in his nightmare was. Lee startled awake, and Puffer looked over at him.

"We got something ahead," Kenny said, getting everyone's attention. Lee moved up front as Kenny slowed the RV. "Damnit, road's blocked," Kenny grumbled, stopping the RV. To the surprise of everyone, the thing blocking the way was a whole ass train.

The train itself and a boxcar looked to be in good shape, but everything else was tipped over. "Is there any way to get around it?" Ben asked.

"Doesn't look like it," Kenny replied, "On foot, maybe. Can't really afford to do that now." Kenny was right, they had to stay inside a vehicle. Although, an idea was forming.

"We should see if the train still works," Puffer suggested, "It will be loud as fuck, but a lot faster than the RV. We can outpace the walkers."

"That's not a bad idea..." Kenny mumbled.

"This seems like a safe area," Lee added, "All this brush will stop anything from creeping up on us."

"Then rest," Puffer said, ignoring his ankle pain, "I can search it-"

"I think you should rest too," Kenny frowned, "Your ankle's all swollen up and red." Puffer looked down and sure enough, his ankle wasn't looking too good. Puffer gave a nod and moves to a fallen log, taking a seat. It felt good to give his ankle another break, as it was clear he had overworked it the past two days. While Puffer rested, Lee, Ben, and Travis began to search around the train. Katjaa held Duck close while Elizabeth sat near Clementine.

Puffer opened the supplies that had almost gone to the bandits, and he saw several pill containers and bandage packaging, as well as three empty syringes. He had no clue what the syringes could be used for, and he was half tempted to throw them out. Still, it was better to keep all they had now, and who knows? Maybe the syringes could come in handy at some point in the future.

His thoughts were interrupted when the train suddenly let out a steamy hiss, and Kenny quickly got up. Puffer's eyes widened as he looked over at the train. It worked. It still fucking worked. This was the best news of the day! Ben and Travis eventually returned, having dragged the body of a long dead man out. "How does it look?" Puffer asked.

"The brake light was flashing, and they still work, so that has to be a good thing!" Ben answered.

"Some idiot tore off the instructions to turn the train on," Travis grumbled, "Lee's looking for a way around that and Kenny's going to figure out the train controls."

"This might be our safest shot," Puffer said, "I don't know how much diesel this thing has, but hopefully it's multiple trips worth. The problem is how loud it's going to be..."

"You folks doin' alright?" Puffer jumped a bit and turned to see an old man wearing a dirty coat, "I see you found my boxcar."

"You're the owner of the mattress?" Travis questioned, looking skeptical.

"Sure am, name's Chuck, Charles if you're fancy," The old man said, "You folks seem tired."

"We really are," Katjaa spoke softly, "We don't mean to intrude-"

"It's alright, I don't mind some company for a bit," Chuck chuckled, then looked to Clementine and Elizabeth, "When was the last time the kids ate?"

"It's...been a few days," Puffer admitted, "We haven't been doing the best food wise."

"Then here," Chuck said, holding out four candy bars, "You kids should stay healthy."

"Candy! Thank you mister," Elizabeth said as she grabbed one, while Clementine took another. Chuck handed the last two to Travis and Ben.

"Thanks for that," Puffer said, feeling a bit of relief.

"My husband in in the train, trying to get it to work. You should introduce yourself..." Katjaa spoke up.

"I'll be sure to do just that," Chuck said, heading over to the train.

Meanwhile, Puffer noticed the mental exhaustion Katjaa seemed to be dealing with. He couldn't blame her, with how somber everything had become until the train proved itself useful. But even with this spark of hope, Puffer could tell it didn't do much for Katjaa, if the faded look in her eyes was anything to go by. If there was a way to save Duck, they had to come up with it fast.

It was then that the train rumbled to life, the engine whistling away. Every bit of dread Puffer had felt was slowly being blown away by the sound of the train working. It was a miracle by all accounts. "I feel bad..." Duck mumbled.

"It's alright Duck," Katjaa mumbled as she patted Duck's back.

Puffer looked at the bag of supplies, then the syringes, then at Duck. Then, a crazy idea formed in his head, "What do you do to immunize someone?" Puffer asked Katjaa, "If you have no vaccine."

"Well, normally I would transfer the proper cells," Katjaa explained, "It would be memory B-cells, which would be in your lymph nodes."

"Would you be able to find someone's lymph node?" Puffer asked.

"I know some basic human anatomy, so I guess...why?"

"Because if my idea works, then I think we can save Duck."